5 "new twists" for a new Superman project

[superduperman]

More new possible twists:

6. Krypto is a hyper-intelligent manufactured organic servant (HIMOS?) who was a non-humanoid caretaker of baby Kal on Krypton.

It was placed in the rocketship to safeguard Kal on Earth. Upon arrival, Krypto was ejected from the craft, scanned the first sentient life form it found and assumed its shape. Something went wrong and Krypto found that not only was it now stuck in the shape of a dog, it had lost its ability to communicate verbally. It followed Kal and the Kents back to the farm, and quickly got itself adopted by the Kents as well.

This is pretty much my origin for Krypto minus the ability to talk. Kryptonians have pets that can shape shift. When his craft arrives on Earth, he takes the form of the first animal he encounters to fit in. In this case, a stray dog.

[marhawkman]

more naturally occurring K-hybrids.

Zod's lackeys have on multiple occasion taken up civilian identities. Maybe they did a few more things in those forms than we'd thought?

[Thunder Agent]

Krypton was the thrownworld of a vast empire that included Daxam, Rann, and more. When it is blown up by Brainiac, something no one believed was possible, the empire dissolved and the other planets were set way back technologically. Kal-El was sent to earth to hide him from people within the empire who would want to use him or do him harm.

Most Kriptonians (and Daxamites) are naturally only as powerful as the golden age Superman. Clark, Kara, and Zod are all part of the elite class who received genetic modification to absorb and utilize solar radiation. As such, even when superman's body is depleted of solar energy he still has his base level powers. Most kryptonian villains would be a huge threat to humans but only ones like Zod would pose a physical threat to Superman. Superman can deplete his solar energy reserves through over use of his powers or though his solar flare ability and would be left with his base powers until he can recharge.

More to come...

[Vordan]

One thing that I really liked in the New 52 was Kryptonite being the fuel that powered Clark’s rocket. That to me perfectly explains why it’s present on Earth and how it got there without seeming contrived.

[daBronzeBomma]

Some more twists:

11. The super-suit can shapeshift into any style of clothing upon mental command.

It's symbiotic without being a living symbiote. It can regenerate a damaged supersuit after a battle (Cape included). It can become work clothes, farm clothes, pajamas, shorts, or any other clothing. This saves us from wondering where do his clothes go after the iconic shirt-rip? I always hated the pouch in the Cape idea (seems cheap). And this feels like something a super- advanced alien society would have naturally come up with way before Kal was born there.

12. Krypto has his own secret identity.

I forget which Post-Crisis Earth dog name was used more (Rusty? Shelby?) Either way, that's Krypto's secret civilian ID. He stays as a small white beagle-ish dog at the Smallville farm protecting Ma and Pa while Clark's away, but transforms into a giant caped wolf creature when helping Clark. Giant like Kal could ride him into battle if he wanted to do so.

13. The Lanes are back.

Sam and Ella are very much active in their daughter's life. Sam isn't a general, but a lower rank like Major or Colonel. He is not xenophobic at all, but just pragmatic about letting someone as powerful as Supes go unchecked. Ella is a definently proud homemaker, and has a rich and complex relationship with her eldest child. We need more mother-daughter issues on the Superverse.

14. Lucy Lane is 18 years Lois' junior.

Sam and Ella were high school sweethearts who conceived Lois during senior prom. They were both still 18 years old when they became unprepared parents. They were in their late-30s when Lucy (clearly an oops baby) showed up, and were much more prepared this time. Lois had a much tougher childhood than Lucy, but remains protective of her little sister. Lucy is the same age as Jimmy Olsen.

15. Clark built his Fortress of Solitude with his bare hands.

I hate the notion that some alien technology that Clark didn't understand just gifted that awesome place to him. No, he designed and built it himself, for himself.

[marhawkman]

some versions of the Fortress ARE Superman's handiwork. He still used them to hold his alien super tech though.

[Last Son]

Yeah that was the standard version up until the crisis. That's like saying Lex as just a criminal scientist with underground lairs and always on the run from the police is a twist.

[llozymandias]

Yeah that was the standard version up until the crisis. That's like saying Lex as just a criminal scientist with underground lairs and always on the run from the police is a twist.

Not all of Lex's lairs were underground.

[daBronzeBomma]

16. Only 4 living Kryptonians survived the destruction of their home planet.

Kal, Kara, Krypto and a mysterious loner calling themselves Zod. No Bottled City of Kandor that is filled with living Kryptonians (it's a ghost town).

The "living" qualifier still slides for the Eradicator and the Doomsday virus to exist.


17. "Zod" is actually a fully-armored Faora (sociopathic loner).

Armor is a cross between the MOS Earth-armor worn by Faora and the Russian Zod armor from the Aughts. Head and face are concealed.

Faora figures out Kal's secret, finds it hilarious, and adopts a human guise as Clark's aunt on his mother's side (she locates and kills the real one to assume her identity). Meanwhile, she operates publicly as the armored Zod.


18. Intergang is run by Mongul, not Darkseid.

The Fourth World gets a final divorce from the Superverse, but the Superverse gets Intergang (and Bruno Manhiem) and repurposes them as unwitting agents of Mongul and Warworld.

Intergang successfully either forcefully absorbs or violently annihilates all the various ethnic organized crime groups in Metropolis.

[Ascended]

A number of races across the cosmos all have a small bit of the Anti-Life Equation buried in their genes (us, Rann, Thanagar, Krypton, Tamaran...all the human looking aliens). Darkseid has swept the galaxy collecting them. When he invades Krypton, Jor-El destroys the planet and commits total genocide to prevent Darkseid from getting that piece of the ALE, but Jor can't help but send his wife and son to earth, the next seed planet on Darkseid's quest. Krypton's destruction destroys Darkseid's physical avatar, and he has to start all over again, creeping back into the material world (sorta like Final Crisis) and re-build his fleet and parademon forces. This buys earth centuries (the theory of relativity is a thing).

The El's rocket is damaged escaping Krypton and the life support system loses integrity, able to only keep one occupant alive for the whole trip. Able to save herself or Kal, Lara sacrifices herself and suffocates holding her baby. Later, a couple with a newborn alert the authorities to a rocket that landed in their field. The rocket and it's dead pilot are swept up by the military and no one ever even considers the idea that the couple's baby wasn't their own. And nobody realizes that the rocket carried a dire warning of the coming Apokolips.

[manwhohaseverything]

18. Intergang is run by Mongul, not Darkseid.

The Fourth World gets a final divorce from the Superverse, but the Superverse gets Intergang (and Bruno Manhiem) and repurposes them as unwitting agents of Mongul and Warworld.

Intergang successfully either forcefully absorbs or violently annihilates all the various ethnic organized crime groups in Metropolis.

Why do people want to divorce the links between the kirby's 4th world and superman? At this point it's ingrained very much ingrained in the lore. Replacing darkseid as intergangs leader ain't gonna be enough for severing thematic connections . Darkseid is different kind of villain for clark.
"The mechanistic clockwork hinges on an impossible defiance of entropy; life. And the clockwork doesn't care."
"I am entropy. I am death. I am... Darkseid"

[daBronzeBomma]

Why do people want to divorce the links between the kirby's 4th world and superman? At this point it's ingrained very much ingrained in the lore. Replacing darkseid as intergangs leader ain't gonna be enough for severing thematic connections . Darkseid is different kind of villain for clark.
"The mechanistic clockwork hinges on an impossible defiance of entropy; life. And the clockwork doesn't care."
"I am entropy. I am death. I am... Darkseid"

This is a discussion better suited to the Rogues Gallery thread, but briefly (so not to derail this thread): Darkseid was never intended to be a villain for Clark. He is meant for own franchise (Fourth World) first and the greater DCU next before he gets associated with Superman.

Pitting Superman against Darkseid in one-on-one scenarios is a huge disservice to Darkseid, who all too often turns into Jobberseid whose pathetic Omega Beams are laughably equal to Clark's heat vision.

You want a big evil overlord type who can go punchy-kicky-zappy with Clark, that's Mongul. You want a singular threat that requires multiple teams against have a shot against him, that should be Darkseid, as it has been with Thanos at Marvel.


Ok, back to the ideas ...

19. Kryptonian physiology is so, so, SO much different than Terrestrial physiology.

On the outside, Kryptonians look just like Terrestrials except for strikingly different coloring of skin, hair and eyes.

On the inside, hoo-boy: completely different species. Kryptonians are have evolved to become basically cold-blooded autotrophic organisms with extreme biological efficiencies.

All they need to survive is light, air, and water (plus the occasional mineral-rich carbon-rock to chomp on, hence they didn't out-evolve teeth). They don't poop or pee (but they can puke pellets), and have no anus nor rectum.

Kryptonians have back-up organs for everything. Multiple hearts, a second brain not located in the head, no actual stomach just intestines. Clark eats out of strict politeness to his company (like us eating candy), but he doesn't cook for himself.

Also, Kryptonians aren't born, they're hatched out of eggs. Yup, female Kryptonians lay eggs.

What can I say: I like a lot of weirdness with my aliens!

[Mutant God]

1. Lex Luthor was adopted by the Luthors after he was given up by his young father, John Kent, and Clark goes to Metropolis to meet him.
2. Toyman creates toys of Superman and makes millions of dollars off of his likeness
3. Power Girl and Warworld come from another universe and Power Girl wants to destroy before it destroys another planet
4. Doomsday is the son of Darkseid and a female Kryptonian and was experimented upon to see the DNA of the New Gods.
5. Kancer was created by Lex when he tried to get rid of his Kryptonite induced cancer.

[Vordan]

1. Lex Luthor was adopted by the Luthors after he was given up by his young father, John Kent, and Clark goes to Metropolis to meet him.
2. Toyman creates toys of Superman and makes millions of dollars off of his likeness
3. Power Girl and Warworld come from another universe and Power Girl wants to destroy before it destroys another planet
4. Doomsday is the son of Darkseid and a female Kryptonian and was experimented upon to see the DNA of the New Gods.
5. Kancer was created by Lex when he tried to get rid of his Kryptonite induced cancer.

Number 2 has DEFINITELY happened at one point. I definitely read a story like that, can’t remember where.

[magha_regulus]

1. The Kents were migrant farm workers that eventually were able to start their own small farm but always lived in a financially precarious state.
2. Kryptonians have the 1938 powerset on Krypton like Siegel and Shuster intended
3. Superman is very anti-authoritarian in part because of his life of struggle with the Kents but also because the authoritarian science council of krypton was responsible for the planet's destruction
3. Superman is known to be a scientific genius and has his own super gadgets like time machine, reverse engineered mother boxes, and is investigating the science behind "magic" in an attempt to better handle Mxyzptlk
4. Superman also has secret contingency plans for all the superheroes, he just memorizes them and doesn't keep them on file
5. Clark Kent often times gets into Julian Assange level journalistic trouble.